FIO CH48

Chapter 48: Welcome to the Adult World

Lu Fangchi stood in front of the transparent fish tank, looking down as the koi fish, orange-red or yellow, flipped their bellies one by one, floating horizontally on the surface.

Their eyes seemed to be covered with a white film, and their mouths were slightly open, dead through and through. These koi fish were the most common kind on the market, not valuable but easy to keep.

He couldn’t quite remember where they had come from. Perhaps it was a junior employee who had gifted them when the company secured its first investment. Since koi fish symbolize good fortune, they had been casually kept.

Initially, they were placed in a small glass tank, but as the company gradually stabilized, they were moved to a larger tank, and eventually to the current luxurious display tank, which was deliberately placed in the reception hall.

Clients who came and went could see them at a glance, and it was hoped that the good luck they brought would make everything go smoothly.

Lu Fangchi didn’t usually take care of the fish himself. He couldn’t say he had any deep attachment to them, but they had been in the company for six or seven years. It was unsettling to find them all dead suddenly.

Frowning deeply, Lu Fangchi demanded, “What’s the reason?” After being kept for so long without any issues, how could they all die at once? There had to be a cause.

The cleaning lady in charge of the fish was terrified, shaking her head and waving her hands in panic. “I don’t know either. I usually take care of them, but when I came in this morning, they were all dead. I have no idea what happened.”

Lu Fangchi’s frown deepened. The cleaning ladies and a few employees behind him looked at each other, their eyes asking the same question: who knew what had happened? It was too sudden.

Finally, the secretary in charge of reception raised her hand and licked her lips, saying, “It’s just that…” She hesitated for a long time but couldn’t come up with a clear explanation.

Lu Fangchi turned to her and asked, “What do you mean?”

The secretary pursed her lips, hesitated for a while, and then whispered, “On Saturday, I seemed to see Mr. Zhou feeding the fish… But it’s not necessarily the reason. We need to investigate further to know the exact cause.”

It was him again. Lu Fangchi’s frown deepened even more, and he said, “I understand.”

He waved his hand to dismiss everyone and continue working, and then instructed the cleaner, “Dispose of these fish.”

The cleaning lady nodded and quickly agreed, asking, “Should we buy new ones to replace them?”

“No, leave it as it is for now,” Lu Fangchi shook his head and refused.

As soon as he walked back to his office and sat down, his assistant knocked on the door and came in, holding a stack of folders which he placed on the table.

“The top two are project budgets that require your signature. This one is a business cooperation that has been finalized and needs your signature.”

“The last one,” the assistant paused, “is Liang Shuang’s resignation application, which requires your approval and signature, and then the HR department will process it.”

Lu Fangchi refused to meet Zhou Zheng and showed no intention of changing his stance. Liang Shuang was determined to leave, and there was no way to keep him.

His beautiful eyebrows were furrowed into an inverted V, as if they could crush a fly. He roughly grabbed the folder, opened it, and signed his name in bold, freehand strokes—Lu Fangchi.

It wasn’t about the steamed bun; it was about saving face. He was done and didn’t want to have any more entanglements with Zhou Zheng.

The anger was vented, but the subsequent troubles were endless. Lu Fangchi took a deep breath and looked up at his assistant, instructing, “Have the HR department integrate the talent pool and recruit someone to fill Liang Shuang’s position as soon as possible.”

Without needing to be told by Lu Fangchi, the assistant knew what to do. However, it wouldn’t be easy to find someone like Liang Shuang. The assistant couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, foreseeing that the projects would be at a standstill for a while.

As the assistant was about to leave with the folders in his arms, he heard Lu Fangchi’s voice behind him: “Retrieve the surveillance footage from the reception hall around 6 p.m. the day before yesterday and send it to me.”

The assistant silently calculated the time in his mind. That was exactly when Zhou Zheng had come to visit. He had heard rumors that the koi fish in the reception hall had all died.

The assistant turned around and saw the unpleasant expression on Lu Fangchi’s face. Coupled with this instruction, he couldn’t help but wonder: Could it be?

Zhou Zheng sat in front of his desk, seemingly enveloped in a dark aura. His face was gloomy, and his fingers clacked away at the keyboard noisily.

Liu Tui pushed the door open and walked up to Zhou Zheng with a grin, seemingly oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere. He leaned on the desk with both hands and snapped his fingers.

Zhou Zheng was annoyed and glanced at him irritably, “Let go.”

A real man doesn’t hold a grudge against a complaining one. Liu Tui forgave Zhou Zheng’s rudeness and laughed, “I’ve got two pieces of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

What a nuisance. Without even looking at him, Zhou Zheng grunted, “Get lost.”

“Oh, alright,” Liu Tui nodded nonchalantly, turned to leave, and deliberately muttered in a volume that Zhou Zheng could hear, “The one next door, never mind.” He observed Zhou Zheng out of the corner of his eye.

Upon hearing the word “next door,” Zhou Zheng’s fingers on the keyboard froze, and he finally looked up at him.

Three.

Two.

One.

Zhou Zheng called out, “Wait.”

Hooked. Liu Tui’s eyebrows lifted triumphantly, then flattened again as he turned to face the alpha and asked, “What for?”

“What’s going on next door?” he asked.

“Two pieces of bad news,” Liu Tui gestured a thumbs-up.

“Tell me one by one, starting with the worst,” Zhou Zheng said.

Liu Tui’s thumbs-up gesture drooped, and with a mischievous look, he said, “Two hundred bucks, a hundred for each piece of news.”

Zhou Zheng looked exasperated. “Are you serious?”

“Are you going to listen or not?” Liu Tui raised his eyebrows, confident of his position.

Zhou Zheng opened his mouth but said nothing, finally taking out his phone reluctantly and transferring two hundred yuan to Liu Tui. He dropped the phone on the table with a thud and looked up, saying, “Go ahead.”

Liu Tui checked the WeChat red envelope to make sure it wasn’t just 0.02 yuan before pocketing his phone. He walked back to Zhou Zheng, held up one finger, and said, “The first piece of bad news: Liang Shuang’s resignation application has been approved.”

Zhou Zheng’s eyebrows furrowed tightly, and then Liu Tui reminded him, “Remember, the exorbitant breach-of-contract fine will come out of your personal account.” The mess caused by love-struck behavior was not the company’s responsibility.

Zhou Zheng understood Liu Tui’s implication and reluctantly agreed, “I know.”

“The second piece of bad news,” Liu Tui held up two fingers and continued, “All the koi fish in FC are dead.”

Zhou Zheng’s pupils dilated slightly, and he blinked, asking, “What happened?”

Liu Tui shrugged, “I’m not sure. I heard they were overfed.”

“Speaking of which, these koi fish have been with FC since its inception, accompanying us through three office moves. They were like a mascot. I wonder who could be so careless…” Liu Tui’s voice trailed off as he noticed Zhou Zheng’s increasingly rigid expression.

“Could it be you?” Liu Tui’s eyes widened in surprise.

Zhou Zheng couldn’t help but bite his finger nervously. Could it be that easy to kill them?

Seeing Zhou Zheng’s characteristic anxious nail-biting gesture, Liu Tui closed his eyes for a moment, then gave him a thumbs-up, “You’re something.”

Zhou Zheng swatted away Liu Tui’s gloating hand and continued to bite his nails, “What should I do?” he accidentally blurted out.

Liu Tui replied, “Apologize. Sincerely, genuinely, and on your knees.”

Lu Fangchi raised his hand and scrolled the mouse to close the surveillance footage.

For a moment, he couldn’t quite describe how he felt—whether to laugh or to be angry.

It was too childish. He raised his hand to his forehead, and an image flashed through his mind: Zhou Zheng standing in front of the fish tank, pinching up fish food and throwing it into the tank one piece at a time. The surveillance footage, even on triple speed, lasted an hour, and he actually spent three hours overfeeding the fish to death. How much did he hate himself?

A lump of frustration lodged in Lu Fangchi’s chest, making him feel restless and agitated. This feeling persisted until almost the end of the workday, with no sign of relief. It had been a long time since he had felt so dominated by his emotions. He thought he needed to let off some steam and distract himself.

Lu Fangchi took out his phone, scrolled to the group chat with three people, and sent a message: “Are you there?”

Usually, Jiang Mingyi would pop up first, filling the entire screen with cool replies, and then Yu Yao would show up late, sending a “1” to make an appearance. But today, ten minutes passed, and the group chat remained silent. Lu Fangchi waited for another ten minutes, but still no one responded. He put away his phone, thinking that he was destined to drink alone tonight.

After finishing the necessary work for the day, Lu Fangchi changed his computer, put on his coat, grabbed his car keys, and headed towards the underground garage. He unlocked the car, pulled open the door, got into the driver’s seat, and navigated to the “Nightshade” bar, stepping on the gas.

After reversing into the parking spot, Lu Fangchi didn’t get out of the car immediately.

Instead, he rolled down half of the car window, took out a cigarette from the pack, put it between his lips, slid the lighter with his hand, and leaned down to light it.

A bright red dot appeared between his fingers. Lu Fangchi exhaled a white-gray smoke ring, blurring his cold and delicate face.

After the cigarette burned out, a hint of nonchalance appeared in his usually clear and moist eyes. He raised his hand to loosen and remove his tie, unbuttoning two buttons of his white shirt. In an instant, his demeanor shifted from cold and restrained to charming and captivating.

Lu Fangchi got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and walked into the dimly lit bar with blue and green lights interweaving, where heavy metal music was playing loudly, vibrating his eardrums. People were dancing wildly, drinking and celebrating, welcoming him to the adult world.

He skillfully ordered a drink and held it in his hand, making his way through the crowd towards the stage.

In the middle of the stage, there were three poles, two of which were already occupied.

The person on the left was probably an alpha, wearing dark gray sweatpants and a hoodie. He was holding onto the pole, showing off his skills with a wild and handsome dance.

Someone in the audience deliberately shook a bottle of alcohol and sprayed it at the alpha as soon as it was opened. The already loose hoodie instantly got wet and stuck to his body, outlining his perfect abs.

The scene caused a commotion in the audience, who cupped their hands around their mouths and cheered, “Yo, yo, yo.” He was probably a very showy alpha.

The audience’s enthusiastic reaction pleased him, and he danced even more wildly and unrestrainedly. He spun around the pole with his legs wrapped around it, reached into his pocket, and threw a handful of red rose petals into the audience.

The bar was filled with all kinds of people. He saw a guy who looked out of place, a “four-eyes” with his mouth slightly open, letting the rose petals hit his face and slide down, looking dazed and silly.

Where did this bumpkin come from? The alpha’s playful side was awakened. He stepped on the pole with one foot and leaned towards the audience, stretching out his other arm to forcefully grab the bumpkin’s hand and place it on his damp abs, slowly sliding it down to his V-line.

Ah ha, he actually blushed?

Lu Fangchi took in the whole scene, raised an eyebrow, and took a sip of his drink, shifting his gaze to the right.

The guy looked quite handsome, but too slick for his taste.

On the right was a very distinctive omega, with a soft and seductive dance style, wrapping his body around the pole as if he had no bones.

Wearing a hot mini-short and a crop top that revealed a bit of skin, his slender and soft waist was white and tender, and he had a pair of cat ears on his head. Not bad, quite cute.

Lu Fangchi had an upright posture and a versatile charm that was both sweet and salty. As soon as he entered, he attracted the attention of most people, including the omega dancing on the stage. The omega’s eyes were fixed on Lu Fangchi, sending signals and deliberately leaning down to invite Lu Fangchi to touch his fake cat ears.

Lu Fangchi obliged and pinched them gently. The omega took the opportunity to grab Lu Fangchi’s hand and half-pulled, half-dragged him onto the stage. Oh? Lu Fangchi raised his eyebrows, smiling as he watched the omega’s next move. As expected, the omega began to tease, trying to dominate the situation on his home turf.

Lu Fangchi curled his lips into his first smile of the day. With a small leap, he grabbed the middle pole that was free and began to spin, swirling his shirt as he danced with the omega. His dance was neither ingratiating nor as wild as the hoodie-wearing alpha’s. It was light and graceful, with a youthful exuberance in the smile that lifted on his face.

Lu Fangchi didn’t overdo it; after one dance, he stepped down from the stage and hid in the crowd. He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of his drink, his breath slightly labored. Sweat droplets disappeared into his collar as he swallowed. The eager gazes of those around him were fixed on him.

A light pat on the shoulder made Lu Fangchi turn around to see the cat-eared omega holding a drink and smiling at him, “Bro, let’s clink glasses.”

Before Lu Fangchi could react, the omega brought his glass close and clinked it with Lu Fangchi’s, producing a crisp sound of glass. He threw his head back and downed the drink in one go, squinting his eyes in admiration, “I didn’t expect you to know pole dancing. Quite a contrast, bro.”

Lu Fangchi just smiled without a word. The cat-eared omega chatted intermittently, and on the third round, finally revealed his intention. With eyes full of emotion, he placed his hand on Lu Fangchi’s shoulder, leaned close to the alpha’s ear, and breathed warmly, “Take me home tonight, bro?”

Lu Fangchi grabbed the omega’s wandering hand, tilted his head to avoid further closeness, and whispered, “Have a drink with me.”

The omega, subtly rejected, didn’t get annoyed. He was very perceptive and pulled back a bit, reaching for the drink menu and ordering two special cocktails. Lu Fangchi’s fingers traced the ice cubes in his glass as he softly said, “You can order a few more bottles and save them if you can’t finish.”

Handsome, generous, and considerate. The omega’s eyes lit up, “Bro is so cool. My sales for today are sorted.”

As he reached out to hug Lu Fangchi and plant a kiss, Lu Fangchi leaned back, not having time to refuse. Suddenly, a hand appeared out of nowhere and tightly grabbed the omega’s arm.